Our hospital offerred the vaccine booster to both of us while in the hospital, directly after birth. Our doctor also recommended that anyone who will regularly be around the baby before 6 months also get their booster. We asked our parents and our nanny to get a booster, and just asked everyone else to stay away if they were sick.

Our doctor also told us that the main concern is that adults who are not up on their boosters have been infecting unprotected infants with pertussis (whooping cough). Because infants don’t get the first DTaP shot until 2 months (by the regular CDC vaccine schedule), and because pertussis can be deadly to infants, boosters are recommended for people who are regularly around your inewborn.

We asked my mom and dad and my SIL and BIL if they were up to date with their vaccinations since they’d be around the baby the most. It didn’t actually go over too well with my SIL since she thinks she knows everything about kids since she has two already, but that’s another story…

This is one issue that I am super passionate about. I work in infectious disease and you had better believe that before anyone is allowed to touch our future kids, they will be vaccinated. I see every day the effect of poor vaccination. Pertussis is most commonly transmitted to unvaccinated infants by family members who can carry it without exibiting the classic symptoms (coughing fits followed by the sucking inhale). I will not risk the safety of my babies because it might be offensive to my parents, inlaws or siblings. Pertussis is one of the scariest infections to witness, and there are outbreaks all the time in the US now because parents are choosing not to vaccinate healthy children. I can’t take the chance that my baby will contract this disease and potentially die from it.

What about other people? Presumably friends and non-immediate family members are going to want to see the baby within six months, before they are supposed to build up a true immunity to whooping cough. Do you simply check with them inadvance whether they’ve had their shots, or check that they’re feeling well? Thoughts? I hate to be paranoid, but I also hate to be mindless about this.